Jaguar XK 140 roadster

When the doors at Earls Court opened for the annual London Motor Show in October 1948, car-starved Britons virtually besieged the Jaguar stand. The reason: the all-new XK-120. Easily the star of the show, it was the slinkiest, sexiest, most modern sports car ever seen on the Sceptred Isle.
With curvaceous flush-fender bodywork and a smooth, powerful new twincam six, it marked a complete design departure from prewar British practice, yet many enthusiasts viewed it as the direct successor to the lithe and lovely SS100 of 1937-1940. It was equally a bold symbol of Britain's postwar industrial recovery, and would prove to have wide appeal on both sides of the Atlantic. In this country, it would be as important as the MG TC in fueling the sports car fever that ultimately led to a raft of domestic two-seaters, the Chevrolet Corvette and Ford's Thunderbird in particular.
For these and other reasons, the XK-120 and its XK-140 and XK-150 descendants have long been acknowledged as among the most romantic and influential sports cars ever built. Needless to say, they've been highly sought after collectible automobiles almost from the day the last of the breed gave way to another trend-setting Jaguar, the sensuous E-type.